pulling just within lever. that's "hardball" for now. thank you for being was. "politicsnation" with al sharpton starts right now. >> thanks, michael, and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, the stop and frisk appeal. new york officials announce that tomorrow they'll begin appealing this week's ruling against the city's discriminatory stop and frisk program. even though the judge ruled it violates the constitutional rights of minority, mayor michael bloomberg is defending the policy. >> how do you think this ruling at all threatens your overall legacy? >> i don't know -- it's almost 12 years now people have walked the streets of new york city without having to look over their shoulder. i suspect that's probably a pretty good legacy. >> really? because i know a lot of people who are looking over their shoulders these days. of course, the right-wing media

agrees with the mayor. they think racial profiling and discrimination is the best way to fight crime. >> everybody remarks about the amazing change in new york city over the past 15 years. well, couldn't this possibly be one of the reasons? i mean, if you are just looking at cause and effect. >> it's working. that's why crime is down. >> in cities that use stop and frisk like new york, the murder rate is much lower. >> chicago and philly don't have stop and frisk. chicago has a murder rate of four times new york's murder rate. and philly has it at about triple. >> you wish tie department philly's tactics over new york city, you're accomplice to mass murder. >> the murder rate in new york city will skyrocket. >> stop and frisk, lowered murder rates in new york city? it's a great theory for the right. too bad the facts don't back it up. new york's murder rate began dropping well before stop and frisk was kicked into high gear. murders were down 74% from 1990

to 2002. but after the surge in stop and frisk, the trend slowed down. the murder rate decreased by just 12%. racial profiling did not make new york a safer city. this kind of approach doesn't work. and the rest of the country knows it. this week attorney general eric holder announced the end of severe mandatory sentences for nonviolent drug offenders and said it's time to move in a new direction. >> we cannot simply prosecute or incarcerate our way to becoming a safer nation. we must never stop being tough on crime. but we must also be smart and efficient when battling crime. >> and the world's largest group of correction officers agreed, calling for the elimination of mandatory minimum sentences. the facts are clear.

the time is right. america is ready to get smart on crime. joining me now is new york congressman hakeem jeffries, representing the boroughs of brooklyn and queens. he is on a congressional task force, looking at overcriminalization in america. and barbara arnwine, president of the lawyers committee for civil rights. thank you both for joining me. >> thank you, rev. >> thank you. >> congressman, let me go to you first. what is your reaction to the news that new york officials will begin appealing this stop and frisk ruling tomorrow? >> the stubborn resistance to the fact that stop and frisk program is unnecessary, unconscionable, and now has been declared unconstitutional is really unfortunate. the numbers, reverend sharpton, as you have consistently pointed out speak for themselves. stop and frisk have nothing to do with the dramatic decline in crime that actually began to take place 20 years ago during the last two years of the dinkins administration. >> that's correct. >> where 1207 and frisk wasn't

utilized but a dramatic infusion of the number of police officers that were displayed and put on the streets, particularly in high crime areas. the stop and frisk program doesn't target criminals, it targets innocent, law-abiding individuals. and nypd's own numbers illustrate that fact. 88% of the people who were stopped, questioned and frisked did nothing wrong. no gun, no drug, no contraband. the only thing they have been guilty of is being in the wrong neighborhood and the wrong color of skin. that's unfortunate. >> fitting the profile. you know attorney arnwine, stop and frisk doesn't even stop crime. take a look at this. only 0.12% of stops resulted in gun seizures, as the congressman alluded to. does this really justify violating constitutional rights of hundreds of thousands of people? >> well, i think it's just further evidence of what the judge found about this deliberate indifference to the violations and deprivations of

constitutional rights of american citizens based on nothing but, you know, race. what is so bad about this policy is that not only did it result in millions of african-americans and latinos being unjustly stopped, but those who were really committing the crimes, in fact the majority of whites who were stopped actually contributed to more possessions of weapons, more possessions of contraband. so they were going after the wrong people. >> and the percentages show that. the percentages show that. you know, congressman, and let me be clear. we all i'm sure fight crime and want to see crime down. you know, i have worked with this police commissioner and the ones before him with all kinds of programs. but when you hear things like new york officer polanco, he testified at the trial, blowing the whistle on stop and frisk, saying it was all about filling a quota.

listen to this. >> we stopping kids walking from school. we stop kids walking upstairs to their house. we were stopping kids from going to the store. kids. young adults. >> in order to keep your activity. >> in order to keep that quota. >> i mean, we're being played with just to reach a quota. this is not really about getting criminals that to me is insulting. >> it's insulting. and in fact the reality is in a democracy there has to be a balance, rev, between effective law enforcement on the one hand, and a healthy respect for civil rights and civil liberties on the other. and stop and frisk have crossed that line. mayor bloomberg and police commissioner kelly have obliterated that balance. and the big problem is that it poisons the relationship between the police and the community. >> right. >> so i would argue, as many others have is that the way that stop and frisk have been abused has contributed to the inability of the police to get the level of cooperation that they need in high crime areas.

because of the dramatic suspicion with which individuals are treated, it creates a poisoned relationship between the police and the community and ultimately undermines public safety. >> which is not good for any of us in the city or any other city. let me go to another subject. attorney arnwine, the racial disparity in sentencing is pretty astounding, really. take a look at this. prison sentences for similar crimes were nearly 20% longer for black men than white men. i mean, no one has worked at this harder than you. what can you say about this? and how do people say that justice is color-blind hen these kind of facts stare us in the face. >> and that's why attorney general holder's announcement this week is so key. it is so important that everything be done by law enforcement to reduce racial

profiling in law enforcement and to make sure that we're not arresting people, we're not charging people, we're not incarcerating people and prosecuting and incarcerating people overly just based on racial stereotypes. it is so, so important that we get this can rouse effect of race out of our law enforcement. >> congressman, you're working in in a task force in congress on this. since 1980, the u.s. population has grown by about 40%. but the prisoner population has skyrocketed 790%. >> it's a problem that increasingly folks on the left and the right are recognizing in congress. and that's why we've got a bipartisan task force on over criminalization. we have 5% of the world's population, reverend sharpton, and 20% of the world's population. >> wow. >> this is creating a situation where we've got massive loss of human capital, massive loss of economic productivity, and that's why i'm hopeful that down

in the congress when we get back from the august recess, we can really begin to tackle this problem, and that there will be significant support for the steps that attorney general holder has taken. >> congressman hakeem jeffries and barbara arnwine, thank you both for your time tonight. >> thank you, reverend. >> thank you. coming up, the senator who is trying to suppress the facts about suppressing the vote. ron paul says there is no evidence of discrimination at the polls. i'll show him the proof tonight. plus 24 hours later, and we're still waiting for a republican leader to denounce a sitting congressman who invited this disgraceful rodeo clown in a president obama mask to perform. and a remarkable true story of a man with the front row seat to our nation's civil rights history. the butler who served eight presidents hits the big screen. "the butler" director lee

daniels joins us tonight. you don't want to miss it. got a question or comment? e-mail me. friend or foe, i want to know. "reply al" is ahead.

have you joined the "politicsnation" conversation on facebook yet? we hope you will. today people had a lot to say about ron paul claiming there is no objective evidence of racial discrimination in elections. janice says give me a break. we need a little truth serum injected here. garfield says i'm sure that senator rand paul has never been denied the right to vote. park says objective? he keeps using that word. i don't think he means what he thinks it means.

later on in the show we'll show senator rand paul some of the objective evidencee he seems not able to find. first, we want to hear what you think. please head over to facebook and search "politicsnation" and like us to join the conversation that keeps going long after the show ends. ♪ now you can give yourself a kick in the rear! v8 v-fusion plus energy. natural energy from green tea plus fruits and veggies. need a little kick? ooh! could've had a v8. in the juice aisle. [ crashing ] [ male announcer ] when your favorite food starts a fight, fight back fast with tums. trusted heartburn relief that goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum, tum tum tum tums!

throughout his time in office, president obama has had to solve foreign policy crises after another. the arab spring, the fall of gadhafi, and now once again, egypt. violence is engulfing what has long been one of america's

closest arab allies in the middle east. yesterday alone, more than 630 people were killed and some 3700 were injured in violence when the military crackdown on supporters of former president morsi. today president obama said neither side is without blame. >> while mohamed morsi was elected president in a democratic election, his government was not inclusive and did not respect the views of all egyptians. the united states strongly condemns the steps that have been taken by egypt's interim government and security forces. we deplore violence against civilians. while we want to sustain our relationship with egypt, our traditional cooperation cannot continue as usual when civilians are being killed in the streets and rights are being rolled back. >> the president canceled a major joint military exercise

planned for next month. and he appeared to leave open the option of suspending all foreign aid to egypt. joining me now is former democratic congressman patrick murphy, the first iraq war vet to serve in congress. thanks for joining me, congressman. >> thanks, rev. >> what is your assessment of the president's response so far to this crisis in egypt? >> well, rev, the fact that the president condemned the violence there, and he could have just been silent, not said anything, but he came out and said we cannot condemn this. what is going on in the streets of egypt and cairo specifically is disgraceful, it is heartbreaking. you have over 600 egyptians already killed. and that's at least. so what the president is saying we're condemning this violence, but also we are not going to continue the regular traditional cooperation we had. we are ending, stopping that military joint operation that we had planned to do with the

egyptian military. and it's going to not happen. now. >> what options does the president actually have on the table? >> well, reverend, what the president can do is he can say we're going to stop this cooperation, make sure that they stop the violence in the streets, make sure they actually have democratic elections, which they promise to do which they have not done yet. and that's what needs to happen. but the president is really trying to be thoughtful and deliberate here. but now you have politics entering the equation. you have basically the republicans in the u.s. senate. you have john mccain on one side who criticized the president earlier and basically he said we should be being more forceful in egypt. and you have rand paul who is basically saying we should cut all aid to egypt. frankly, rand paul wants to cut all aid to every country. >> yeah. >> even though it's 1% of the american budget. but he wants to cut it all, including to israel, by the way, which is the neighboring state of egypt. so you're seeing that balance

and that tension in the senate. but, reverend, what you're seeing is president obama as he has had, as he has done when it came to iraq, as it came to afghanistan, as it came to libya in the past, the presidenting into thoughtful and deliberate because he is playing chess when some of these other cats are playing checkers. >> there are some of the right that are using this as an opening to attack the president. before the president came out today, listen to what glenn beck said. >> where is our president? our president is out playing golf. why? why is he out playing golf yesterday? isn't this kind of an important thing? why has the president not made a statement and come out -- where? he is playing golf. why? because he is a coward. >> i guess politics doesn't stop at the water's edge. >> well, you're absolutely right. you know, did glenn beck ever pick up rifle? to call president obama a coward

after he has decimated al qaeda, after he has taken the fight and brought him justice after ten years, again, rev, you're absolutely right. politics should stop at the water's edge. but, you know, you have rand paul using this as another example about two hours ago criticizing the president on the funding that happened, you know, that we gave to egypt which we've already done that military aid. stopping it right now won't turn back the clock. they have gotten that aid. and that has been happening for decades now. we've given the egyptian military over a thousand a-1 tanks. we've given them 221 fighter jets. so we have been -- they have been an ally, but what is going on right now cannot continue. and that's why the president was very forceful saying we're not going to do this to an operation. and really doing what is necessary to stop the violence

and make sure that we're promoting democracy there in egypt and elsewhere. >> all right. congressman murphy, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you, reverend. i appreciate it. still ahead, he's that kind of guy. right-wing pundits are racing to embrace the rodeo clown wearing the mask of president obama. plus rand paul says he sees no evidence of voter suppression. tonight i'll open his eyes and show him the proof. and lee daniels is in the house. i'll talk to the director of "the butler", a powerful film about history, progress, and civil rights. >> are you meeting in school? >> i'm trying to change the way -- >> you're breaking the law. that judge just sentenced you to 30 days in the county work house. >> i can't sit at any lunch counter i want to, then i might as well be dead. coca-cola we be in giving people choices. especially today, as people are looking for more low,

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republican senator rand paul seems to have some grand delusions about himself and about what is really happening in america. remember when he described himself as the true champion of minority rights? >> there is no greater defender, truly, of minority rights, if you include minorities to be the color of your skin or the color of your ideology than myself. >> well, as i first told you yesterday, the great defender is

making headlines again. saying, quote, i don't think there is objective evidence that we're precluding african-americans from voting any longer. no evidence of voter suppression. really? what about the studies showing that blacks and hispanics had to wait longer to vote than whites, an average of 20 minutes online in 2012, compared to just over 12 minutes for whites. looks like inequality at the polls to me. and what about this study? showing that young black and hispanic voters were far more likely to be asked to show an id than whites of the same age. this is what objective evidence looks like, senator paul. but maybe we shouldn't be surprised that rand paul is so wrong about this, given the stuff he has said in the past. >> i've never wavered in my support for civil rights or the civil rights act. i've never been against the

civil rights act, ever. >> he has never been against the civil rights act. never? what about the time already asked him directly if he would have voted for the civil rights act back in 1964. >> actually, i think it's confusing on a lot of cases of what was actually in the civil rights case. see, a lot of the things that were actually in the bill i'm in favor of. to tell you the truth, i haven't really read all through it because it was passed 40 years ago. >> do you think the '64 civil rights or the ada for that matter were just overreaches and that businesses shouldn't be bothered by people with basis in law to sue them for redress? >> right. i think a lot of things could be handled locally. >> he couldn't give a straight answer. rand paul tried to defend this nonsense in an interview with my colleague rachel maddow. >> i think what's important about this debate is not getting into any specific gotcha on this. >> you don't want to get into any gotcha on this.

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i like you too! at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. get the it card and talk to a real person. it's been more than 24 hours since a sitting congressman invited a hateful rodeo clown in a president obama mask to perform in his home state. congressman steve stockman has embraced this mockery, yet no one has denounced him. and they've had every opportunity to this week, especially this week. right now the rnc is in boston, pretending to rebrand the party. newt gingrich even urged the party to, quote, get beyond being anti-obama. but here is some advice. how about starting by calling out a member of congress who is celebrating this garbage. why not try to have some

political courage? they would rather stand by and say nothing while the real party leadership fuels the clown show. >> this is an artist, a very brave artist, believe it or not, rodeo clowns. >> you people on the left, who the hell do you think you are? you can't laugh. you can't take a joke. you can't take a punch, you can't take anything. >> it is the biggest batch of race-baiting bunk i've ever seen. >> i'd say lighten up, but they would accuse me of being racist. >> investigate a noncrime, a nonissue. investigate where is the sense of humor here. really? >> it seems like every president before him has had a mask that wasn't exactly flattering. >> advance, america, advance. don't you dare retreat. don't you dare sit down. today i declare myself official lay rodeo clown. >> yes, i agree. but here is the problem. this far right mentality has taken over in congress, and the

party is just letting the circus roll into town. joining me now are krystal ball and goldie taylor. thank you both for coming on the show tonight. >> thanks for having us, rev. >> goldie, it's one thing if the talkers support this clown. but it's another when 24 hours no gop leader says anything to denounce it. your thoughts. >> well, sure. we're not very many months away from a midterm election. i've got to tell you, reverend sharpton, the time is not now for political courage. these people are worried about drumming up a base. now, for certain, if you're going to have a road crow clown like that in a forum, you certainly have the right to do that. but what you need to know is that is going to be a reflection on you and your candidates going forward. >> right. >> it seems like this republican party has seemed to hermetically seal the echo chamber on us where they really don't want to get out of this thing. i just don't think that this is the kind of thing that they want to show themselves for. but they seem to be embracing

it. >> and let me be clear, krystal, that we're not just talking about the fact he is a clown. every president has had masks. so have there been masks about president obama in the past. none of us said anything. >> right. >> but the person that video'd it and some of those there talked about how they played with the lips on this clown, how they had a bull charging after this clown. and one described it i felt i was at a klan rally. >> right. >> this is the kind of behavior that we're talking about. but talking about this rebranding meeting going on in boston. "the washington examiner" says rush limbaugh, sean hannity and mark levin are being eyed as 2016 debate moderators. >> which is amazing. i love the idea, frankly. it's funny, because their justification is we want to hear from the real grassroots conservatives. now anyone who was watching the debates last time around did not have any problem hearing from

the quote/unquote real grassroots conservatives. the problem was that those debates pulled their candidates so far to the right, exposed the baseness and the extreme nature of the party. i don't think there is anyone better to do that than a rush limbaugh and a sean hannity and a mark levin. >> well, today, goldie, rush limbaugh told his audience he doesn't know if it will work because he is too famous. take a listen. >> i don't see how i can do it. i'm too famous. this moderating republican debates. did you see that throughout? i think i'd overshadow it. i'm too famous. it would be a tough call. it would be a real, real, real tough call. anyway, well, yeah, yeah, yeah. it could get ratings. there is no question about that anyway. it's an idea that is out there. >> i mean, goldie, i'm so touched by his humility. >> i would watch, reverend al sharpton, i would absolutely watch this clown show unfold.

i would watch clown after clown hop out the car that night, if mark levin did it, if sean hannity did it, if rush limbaugh did it, i would absolutely watch, because that would be the republican party showing itself for what it is. you know, the kind of party that really does not believe in big tent politics. it's a party of preservation, preserving privilege, preserving the america of yesteryear, the america that did not believe so much or did not advance so much in human rights. so i just think that that night really would be a better night in television. i'd watch. >> and can i just say too going back to the rodeo clown. the reason that none of the gop leaders have denounced steve stockman for inviting this guy to texas. >> the congressman, right. >> is because their real leader is rush limbaugh and sean hannity and mark levin. and these guys have all gotten behind the rodeo clown. so now they're afraid to call him out. >> krystal, that shows you why chris christie is in an awkward position. he addressed the rnc meeting today, and he took swipes at his

gop opponents. he said, quote, about bobby jindal, i'm not going to go and be one of those people that calls our people stupid. and about senator rand paul, he said we are not a debating society. we're a political operation that needs to win. how does christie, who is arguably at least by the polls the most popular republican right now that is being projected toward a possible 2016 race. how does he navigate through all of this craziness and far right wing extremist kind of activity? >> well, i think the thing with chris christie is he is never afraid of a fight, and he is demonstrating clearly now that he is not afraid of a fight on his own turf with his own people. but the way that he is navigating right now is he is trying to be the voice of a more pragmatic gop there are a lot of members of the republican party,

not the elected officials so much, but the rank and file americans who are frustrated with the republican party, who want to see them once again be a governing party. chris christie is really the voice of republicans who are interested in governing versus republicans who just want to blow the place up. >> now, goldie, you know, christie, as i said, is considered by in the most electable republican candidate. >> sure. >> but the far right hates him. i mean, take a listen to this. >> as for chris christie, i will do everything i can in my little way to make sure he is not the nominee. >> this is the king of bacon talking about bacon. governor christie and others have been part of this gimme gimme gimme. gimme all this money. >> some people look at him as oh, man, he is a governor who goes rogue. no, you know, he's got a shtick going there where he's got a youtube videographer following him around, kind of these setup situations sometimes so he can

be seen as perhaps a little bit avant-garde and going rogue on things. >> you know, goldie, this is the fight for the soul of the party. tea party mentality versus the other. >> i actually, reverend al, honestly don't believe there is going to be a fight at all. most of the gop primary base supporter is right along the american south, along the southeastern united states. and frankly, chris christie doesn't stand a chance here. and so -- and the other part of it is the chain going out west in arizona and new mexico and other states, idaho going out west. and those are places where chris christie's message frankly won't play because we're talking about grassroots conservative republicans who don't even believe that chris christie is a real republican. once you get outside the northeast, i really don't believe chris christie has a chance in this particular gop primary. >> well, krystal ball, goldie taylor, thanks for coming on the show tonight. >> thanks, rev. >> thank you. >> remember, you can catch krystal on the cycle weekdays at 3:00 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc.

still ahead, my interview with lee daniels, director of the film that everybody is talking about, "the butler." we're talking about the power of history and the power of oprah winfrey. >> now everybody just sit down. >> i'm sorry, mr. butler, i didn't mean to make fun of your hero. >> everything you are and everything you have is because of that butler. i think farmers care more about the land than probably anyone else. we've had this farm for 30 years. we raise black and red angus cattle. we also produce natural gas. that's how we make our living and that's how we can pass the land and water back to future generations. people should make up their own mind what's best for them. all i can say is it has worked well for us.

delivering mail, medicine and packages, yet they're closing thousands of offices, slashing service and want to layoff over 100,000 workers. the postal service is recording financial losses, but not for reasons you might think. the problem? a burden no other agency or company bears. a 2006 law that drains $5 billion a year from post office revenue while the postal service is forced to overpay billions more into federal accounts. congress created this problem, and congress can fix it.

we're back with a pause from the political battles of the day, a time to rest, relax, and recharge. that's right, it's time for the "politicsnation" summer break. and at number three, we go to taiwan and the country's newest resident. meet the first panda ever born in the country. the 1-month-old cub just met her mom for the first time. she licked her baby on the nose. they had been kept in separate cages for safety concerns. that's got to put a smile on your face. oh, and here is an instant reaction from the baby when told republicans are threatening a government shutdown. at number two, we go to london and a new form of pest control. it's a new pop-up restaurant called pestaurant.

who is in the mood for some insects? perhaps some salt and vinegar crickets. they are very high in protein, and half the cal relatives beef. or maybe you prefer some roasted scorpions, or crunchy barbecue worms. and for dessert, they're serving chocolate dipped ants, crickets and grasshopper pie. they had grasshopper pie all over their face. and at number one, we say we stay in london, where sports reporter covering soccer took an unexpected plunge. >> but he's a man of the match here at the community shield game. >> now that's the kind of thing that never happens to you on live television. >> he went down off the ladder, hit the ground. but hey, it's live tv. and he made a strong comeback. maybe a little inspiration for

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it's the remarkable true story of a man with a front row seat to our nation's civil rights history. eugene allen worked as a butler at the white house for 34 years under every president from truman to reagan. he was there during all the major moments in the civil rights movement. "the washington post" profiled mr. allen just after the 2008 election, capturing his reaction as he voted for the first african-american president-elected to the office. the new movie lee daniels' "the butler" is inspired by mr. allen's story with oscar winner forrest whittaker playing the character base on him in the

movie. he clashes with his son over how to fight discrimination. >> something special is going on down here, dad. >> what is so special about another colored man in jail? what are you doing with my hard earn money? are you even in school? >> i'm trying to change -- >> that judge just sentence you'd to 30 days in the county work house. you're going to get killed. >> i can't sit at any lunch counter i want, i might as well be dead. we're fighting for our rights trying to change the america's conscious toward the negro. >> hey! who do you think you're talking to? i brought you in this world. i can take you out of it. >> the movie is already getting oscar buzz with star-studded casts led by forrest whittaker, oprah winfrey playing his wife in a first movie in 15 years. cuba gooding jr. as a friend and another butler at the white

house. and terrance howard as their next-door neighbor. it tells a truly amazing and inspiring story, and it opens tomorrow. joining me now is the man who made it all, the director, lee daniels. he is the first african-american producer of an oscar-winning film, and a true hollywood groundbreaker. lee, we're so happy to have you on the show tonight. let me ask you. why did you want to make this movie? >> father and son story. father and son story. you know, when i got the script, my son was 13, and he said black, i say white, he say black. i say day, he say night. i say go to bed, he say hell no. and when does it stop? >> right. >> and it transcends race, the father and son story. and it wasn't until i started shooting the movie and we started seeing the atrocities that happened to these kids that i realized it was bigger than a

father and son story. it was a movie about civil rights. it's a movie about heroes. >> and it is still a movie about father and son. how important was it to tell eugene allen's story? >> so important, because he was an unspoken hero. and there are so many of us out there that don't know about him, and that don't know about the movement, the civil rights movement. >> you know, as i go through the film, a lot happened that i saw before my time, and then during my time. and it seemed like a lot of what you did with drama would get through that people wouldn't ordinarily see without you distorting it, but without it not being less entertaining. >> try to inject humor wherever i could, because my research told me the slaves that made it over here were laughing. they told jokes. and they told jokes on the

fields, in the cotton fields. and during the movement. so i tried to -- try to tell humor, you know. >> it's probably how they survived. let me ask you. how difficult was it to get to make the movie? i understand it was always challenges and funds and all of that? >> it's always hard. i'm surprised i didn't hit you up. you're the only one i probably didn't hit up. it's difficult. it's difficult to get black cinema on screen. it's difficult to get any cinema on screen, especially black cinema. the studios say no, no, no, no, no, unless it's a specific type of cinema. but if it's something that is a drama, a family drama. but we haven't seen this before. we haven't seen a black family before like this. and that was important for me too, to tell a black, show a black family in a way that we haven't seen them before. >> what scene was the most difficult for you to recreate? >> oh, i think the -- that bus scene, because on that bridge there were actual lynchings that took place.

>> yeah. >> and they were -- and i was on the bus, with the kids, and i yelled action, and then from nowhere came the kkk and the swastikas and the crosses, and i yelled cut, but they can't hear me because i'm on the bus. so i'm screaming "cut, cut", and they're still coming at us, shaking the bus. and i realized at that moment that these kids were heroes, that these kids were heroes, and there was nobody -- there was no director to yell cut. when that happened. >> wow. you said so much of the movie is about father-son relations. let's watch this clip. >> what was the name of that movie, honey? >> "in the heat of the night". >> "in the heat of the night" with sydney poitier. >> sydney poitier is a white man's fantasy of what he wants us to be. >> what you talking about? he just won the academy award. he is breaking down barriers for all of us. >> about being white.

by acting white. sydney poitier is nothing but a rich uncle tom. >> look at you. all puffed up, your hat on your head, coming here, saying whatever you want. you need to go. >> what? >> get the hell out of my house. get on out. >> now everybody just sit down. >> i'm sorry, mr. butler. i didn't mean to make fun of your hero. >> everything you are and everything you have is because of that butler. >> why was that dynamic so important to you? >> because everything he was because of that butler. you know? i often wonder. i showed my son the movie. and he liked it. i was surprised. he gave me props. and i said to him, isn't this a great achievement for african-american cinema? and he goes no, dad. i mean it's good, yeah.

but not until i see myself as superman. and i thought to myself, this ain't no difference. it's generational. >> that's right. you know, it's an all-star cast. and what was it like working with forrest whittaker? >> he is a -- you know, he taught me how to be humble. he is a very -- he is a humble human being. and it trickled down to everybody else. >> how was it to direct oprah? >> what do you think? what do you, you know, it took a minute to break through. but once i broke through, she was raw. she was vulnerable, she was fragile. and she was a sister that just reminded me of one of my cousins. >> the movie also portrays many presidents and first ladies. let's watch a clip of that. >> you're very popular around here. everyone says you're the man that got them raises and promotions. i had no idea. >> i wish i could take credit for that. >> i'd like to invite you to the

state dinner next week. >> i'm going to be here, mrs. reagan. >> no. not as -- not as a butler, cecil. i'm inviting you as a guest. >> but the president prefers for me to serve him personally. >> don't you worry about ronnie. i'll take care of that. so we'll see you next week, you and your wife. >> my wife? >> it's gloria, yes? >> yes, ma'am. >> what did you want, lee, from the actors playing first ladies and presidents? >> you know, i didn't want to do tricky dick. we'd seen him before. just a glimmer of what they were like, just a moment of the humanity, and that they were good and they were bad. that they were flawed like all of us were. >> the movie comes out at a time where questions are still out. trayvon martin's verdict, the

supreme court, and i'll say something to you i hadn't told you. >> uh-oh, uh hoe. >> you and forrest hosted a screening for me and a few board members of the national action network. and i was very touched. i brought my daughter. i was very touched, because i knew some of the stuff before me. i knew something about the butler, and i knew something after. i walked out of this screening, and i had actually teared up during a couple of scenes. walked out of the screening, got in the car and they called me to come to the studio. and i heard the trayvon martin verdict that night. and between "the butler" and that verdict, it was a very weird experience for me. but i think a lot of the way we were able to react was because of the butler and seeing the struggle that we did not want to disgrace was in our minds. so we didn't react as emotionally and as out of bounds as people might have thought. >> wow. that day? >> that very night when i left

the screening room. the verdict came in about 11:00. and i left you all about 10:15. and that verdict, trayvon martin and in the aftermath of that, this movie comes in the theaters tomorrow. i think it will put in context for a lot of people no matter what their opinion of the verdict, it will put in context where a lot of us bring to looking at that whole situation. >> yeah, yeah. we didn't -- when we did that movie, trayvon, none of that was going on. that was god working. wow. >> i think in many ways that you will give people a great show in entertainment. and i think in many ways you will help bring america together, because we begin to understand each other, then we come together. a lot of what we don't agree on is because we really don't understand each other. and i'm not just talking black and white. i'm talking generations, that father and son, one that was the butler and the other that was the militant. i don't want to blow the movie. people need to go, and they need to bring their kids to see it,

and their parents to see it. i brought my daughter. i'm glad i did bring her, because i don't know who is right, but i know it was good we did that together. lee daniels, thank you for coming on the show tonight. >> thank you. >> an honor to have you here. "the butler" opens everywhere tomorrow. ng. and 900 million dollars are changing hands online. that's why hp built a new kind of server. one that's 80% smaller. uses 89% less energy. and costs 77% less. it's called hp moonshot. and it's giving the internet the room it needs to grow. this&is gonna be big. hp moonshot. it's time to build a better enterprise. together.

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it's time for "reply al." remember, friend or foe, i want to know. lynnette says i am a disabled veteran who loves my country. i move forward despite the distractions of our country. i live in north carolina. how do i help my community? get involved in things that will protect the vote. what the governor of north carolina does needs to be answered. join with my good friend reverend william barber, doing a great job there. marcus writes would a 2016 ticket composed of hillary clinton and oprah winfrey be a gop nightmare?

the way they're going right now, the election in 2016 is going to be a nightmare no matter who runs. but oprah is anyone's nightmare if they're on the other side. i believe hillary is very formidable as well. stay tuned. we'll see what happens. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. show me the evidence. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm michael smerconish in for chris matthews. leading off tonight, blocking the vote. ever since the republicans won over state governments in the 2010 elections, we have watched the gop in state after state move to limit voting rights in ways that disproportionately fe